Saudis challenge Tehran

A basic historical fact about the Muslim world is that it's divided between two arch-rivals -- the Sunnis and the Shia. It's also no secret that Iran leads the Shia bloc and the Saudis, especially since the ouster of Mubarak in Egypt, is top dog in the Sunni world.

Now, by sending its troops into Sunni-ruled of Bahrain, with its Shia majority, the Saudis have laid down the gauntlet to the ayatollahs in Iran. The Saudis have mobilized Sunni potentates of oil-rich Gulf States of the United Arab Emirates, who also are sending their troops into Bahrain to join the Saudis in bucking up Bahrain's rulers against restive Shias.

The question now: What will Iran, across the Persian Gulf, do at what it obviously must consider a major provocation by its mortal enemy -- Saudi Arabia. Will Iran blink and do nothing? Or will it respond to what it deems a Saudi invasion by sending some of its troops to join Bahrain's Shia?

There are two possible scenarios with historical parallels -- The Saudis' intrusion of Bahrain could be their version of Ronald Reagan's move into Grenada to clean out its radical elements. Or, if Iran responds in kind, we could be seeing a Muslim version of the Spanish Civil War with outside powers flexing their muscles on behalf of one or the other domestic rivals in Bahrain.

Stay tuned.

A basic historical fact about the Muslim world is that it's divided between two arch-rivals -- the Sunnis and the Shia. It's also no secret that Iran leads the Shia bloc and the Saudis, especially since the ouster of Mubarak in Egypt, is top dog in the Sunni world.

Now, by sending its troops into Sunni-ruled of Bahrain, with its Shia majority, the Saudis have laid down the gauntlet to the ayatollahs in Iran. The Saudis have mobilized Sunni potentates of oil-rich Gulf States of the United Arab Emirates, who also are sending their troops into Bahrain to join the Saudis in bucking up Bahrain's rulers against restive Shias.

The question now: What will Iran, across the Persian Gulf, do at what it obviously must consider a major provocation by its mortal enemy -- Saudi Arabia. Will Iran blink and do nothing? Or will it respond to what it deems a Saudi invasion by sending some of its troops to join Bahrain's Shia?

There are two possible scenarios with historical parallels -- The Saudis' intrusion of Bahrain could be their version of Ronald Reagan's move into Grenada to clean out its radical elements. Or, if Iran responds in kind, we could be seeing a Muslim version of the Spanish Civil War with outside powers flexing their muscles on behalf of one or the other domestic rivals in Bahrain.